Wednesday, October 11, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
KC basketball team to feature former Jayhawks
By Michael Rigg
sports@kanson.com
Kansas sportwriter
Kansas City's latest professional sports team definitely will have a Lawrence flair to it.
The Kansas City Knights will begin play on Dec. 26 as part of ABA 2000, the nation's latest venture into minor-league basketball. And while the Knights' official colors are silver, green and purple, the team might as well add crimson and blue because of its Jayhawk connections.
Knights coach Kevin Pritchard was a point guard at Kansas from 1987-90 and a starter on the 1988 national championship team. Already, Pritchard has used his Jayhawk ties to sign 2000 Kansas alumnus Nick Bradford to a contract. Bradford participated in the team's open tryouts in the last week of September and was offered a contract last week.
Pritchard said he was impressed by Bradford's all-around game.
"We had those open tryouts, and he played extremely well," Pritchard said. "He actually shot the ball well, and we decided to sign him."
Pritchard also has been in contact with 1999 Kansas grad Ryan Robertson. Robertson played for the NBA's Sacramento Kings last season, but told the team he didn't plan to return.
"We've been talking to Ryan, and it's just a matter of hammering it
out." Pritchard said.
The Kansas ties and the proximity of the Lawrence campus had helped the team immensely, Pritchard said.
"Right now, I'm just trying to get the best team together," Pritchard said. "Fortunately, KU is very close, and we're looking forward to getting more of those players."
Briefly:
Open tryouts for the men's basketball team begin at Allen Fieldhouse Sunday.
All Kansas students need to do is bring a proof of a physical exam and proof of health insurance to the men's basketball offices at Wagnon Student Athlete Center by today and they are eligible for the tryouts.
The walk-on candidates will be supervised by assistant coach Ben Miller. Miller said that he expected about 60 students to attend the fourday tryout and that a player being added to the team from the tryouts was a definite possibility.
"I think this year is pretty wide open," Miller said. "To be honest, last year we had 14 players returning on the team, so it wasn't really a possibility."
This season, 12 players already are on the Jayhawk roster, but Miller said he would have to wait and see if any walk-ons were worthy of being added to the roster.
Miller said the coaches looked at several different aspects while evaluating a player.
"We do breakdown drill work, we see if they're coachable and then we
BASKETBALL TRYOUTS
What: Kansas men's basketball tryouts. The first tryout session is Sunday, with the number of prospective players being cut to about 25 on Monday. Any walkons approved by the coaching staff will be notified later in the week.
Who can try out: Any student with proof of both a physical exam and health insurance can participate. The proof is due today at Wagnon Student Athlete Center.
Chance of making the team:
Kansas assistant coach Ben Miller said that the team had returned only 12 players this year and that it was possible for walk-on players to be added.
scrimpine and see what kind of game shape they're in." Miller said.
Miller said the coaches didn't have a particular type of player in mind.
"This year, we could be looking for a number of things." Miller said. "We could be looking for someone on the perimeter, someone who can handle the ball, and we could be looking for someone with size. Coach (Roy Williams) says if you see someone who can really help us in practice, then we need to take a long look at them."
Miller said the 60 players would probably be cut down to around 25 Monday. Players will find out by nest Wednesday or next Thursday whether they have made the team.
Former Kansas forward Nick Bradford drives past an opponent last season. Bradford signed a last week deal with the Kansas City Knights, whose coach is fellow Kansas alumnus Kevin Prichard. Kansan file photo
— Edited by Erin McDaniel
Cross country works on improving chemistry
Brent Brentens, Atalisa, Iowa, junior (left), attempts to gain on a competitor at a meet at Rim Rock Farm. Photo by Brad Dreier/KANSAN
ay Ryan Malashack
sports@kanson.com
Kansas sportwriter
Redwine said that he was pleased with not only the steady running improvement the Jayhawks have made but also the improvement in
Now that Redwine knows his runners, he said it was easier for the coaching staff to concentrate on more important tasks — daily improvement and preparation for the upcoming Chili Pepper Invitational and Big 12 Conference Championships.
team chemistry.
When Stanley Redwine became the Kansas cross country coach this year, his main concern was becoming comfortable and acquainted with both the men's and women's teams.
"Our largest improvement has been the team working together," Redwine said. "We could only look at potential at the start of the season. The teams are enjoying one another while working toward a goal."
Redwine said the runners had a different attitude at the start of the season. By changing their attitudes, Redwine said, the runners had blended into a strong nucleus.
"At first, our runners were worried about where they were going to fit in on the team," Redwine said. "But now, everyone wants to contribute and make the team better."
surprised at Kansas' success and improvement during the past few weeks. Behrens contributed it to the bond the men's team shared.
Junior Brent Behrens, who Redwine said was the men's most consistent runner, said he was not
"We're a really close group," he said. "We've all been together for the past couple of years and we've continued to work as a team. We're always there to help each other out."
The improvement in camaraderie has spilled onto the course for the men. Five men have posted personal career-bests in races this season.
Freshman Laura Lavoie has been the top woman finisher for the Jayhawks this year. She said the team had progressed since the preseason.
lot of our speed workouts, and they're getting tough, but we'll only get better."
"It's really hard to tell how good we are still, but we just keep getting better," I lavore said. "We're getting into a
Redwine said he anticipated a strong finish out of his players, but they must work extremely hard to succeed at the Big 12 Championships. Redwine said Saturday's Chili Pepper Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., would be an indicator of the steady improvement the Kansas runners have made.
TV date energizes Jayhawks
Continued from page 18
the competition at the Chili Pepper will be good." Redwine said. "It will be interesting to see how our two teams fare. We need to have closer packs on both our men's and women's sides, and if we do that we will have a great race."
— Edited by Shawn Hutchinson
"Would we like to see Moran get 150 yards against Missouri? Absolutely." Allen said.
Allen said he hoped Norris would have the same kind of game against Missouri this year as he did last year, when the big fullback gained 108 yards.
for the offense to succeed.
"I've always believed that the offensive line is the key to a successful offense," he said.
"This week, we just made everything live," he said. "Everything's full-speed blocking. The only thing you can't do is tackle. (We) try to get used to playing at the higher level — do that, and hopefully, we'll play better Saturday."
The Jayhawks normally don't practice on Mondays, but they did this Monday in an attempt to improve team performance and get the team focused on what's ahead. Oddonetto said the practices also included more contact than usual.
Nesmith said the Jayhawks shouldn't be down — they should recognize the ability of the last two teams they played and look to the future.
"First of all, the last two weeks we played two Top 10 teams," he said. "We haven't played well and performed like we were supposed to as a team, but the confidence hasn't gone down that bad because even with all the mistakes we made, we can still make up for them. We've got a six-game season ahead of us."
Norris said that as a co-captain, he could bring a more positive attitude to the team.
Nesmith said the Jayhawks would beat Missouri on Saturday.
"Just tell the guys out there to relax," he said. "Don't put too much pressure on them. Tell them to relax. Some guys can't play under pressure, and some can."
"We're going in with a lot of confidence, and we could beat them," he said. "We beat them last year, and they're looking for a little revenge, but we're going in with the focus on winning the game."
— Edited by Erin McDaniel
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